


Houses Built in the 70s

by soupsalad



Category: Fallout (Video Games)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2020-05-16 17:23:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19322728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soupsalad/pseuds/soupsalad
Summary: Z2-47 and X9-27 run away from the commonwealth together, knowing very well the dangers they face if the institute's new director catches them. They settle down in megaton, but even the capital wasteland is not safe from the obsessive scientist.





	Houses Built in the 70s

**Author's Note:**

> idek if im going to do much with this, i started it when i was dead tired man. please enjoy this nonsense with no meaning.

A family lived here, x9 can see it from the improvements to the place. In the front yard toys are scattered about carelessly, easy to trip over. He wonders how young the children inside are. He winces and wonders if he will have to kill them. His stomach is in knots. The sun shines down on him and sweat rolls down his face.

 

He makes his way up the steps anticipating the worst, wondering why it had to be like this. One missing synth was not worth all of this innocent blood. With his weapon drawn he opens the door and enters carefully only to find nothing, he had imagined. It was another courser. Z2-47, the unit he has been assigned to accompany on his first mission. He sits on the couch looking down at his hands lost in thought it seemed. Even when the door opened he didn't seem to move, unusual for a courser.

 

"Unit, what are you doing here?" X9 asks with his weapon still raised. This behavior could have easily been relating to him defecting from his role, it was common among new coursers. They crack under the pressure after barely surviving the training.

 

Z2 turns to look at him and the room darkens as if he were projecting the darkness. Like a lightbulb that cast shadows. X9 backs up instinctively, this was far beyond anything he had been trained for. It was best to get away and report it.

 

"What was it like to be alive then? Did you hollow yourself out to fit me in? Or was it I that made the hole I left empty." The unit's voice is disembodied and in his ears.

 

He wakes up lying on the ground outside the house from his dream. The toys in the yard are gone, the repairs to the building have been stripped away.

 

"Z2…" it's the first thing in his mind as he wakes up, a cryptic message from him and an aching pain in his chest. He missed him. He stands up and looks around at the familiar yard.

 

"12 years…" That's how long it had been since that day. 2275, this house belonged to a family. A mother, a father, two sons.

 

He makes his way up the stairs towards the front door wondering if this was a dream too. The wasteland seemed so quiet, it had to be.

 

"......" He looks up to the setting sun. It was too real, something had put him to sleep. He wonders if maybe it's inside the house. He goes to open the door with little regard for his safety this time, disoriented and not sure he cared what happened when he entered.

 

"X9-27." Z2 is sitting on the worn out couch, legs crossed looking down sadly at an institute rifle in his hands.

 

"Did you let me fall asleep in the open like that?" X9 asks wandering in to sit down next to him. "Why?"

 

Z2 shrugs. "You said you wanted to earlier, you've been doing strange things recently." Z2 looks guilty, that much he can tell.

 

"Did I say why I wanted to?" He asks.

 

"You said that you were tired and didn't want to take another step. I just… Don't know what to do. I just want to let you rest." He looks as if he might crush the rifle in his hands.

 

"Are...you alright?" X9 asks and Z2 shrugs, looking away from him.

 

"This is all my fault, you got hurt because of me, you don't even seem to remember."

 

X9 looks around confused. What was there to remember? He asks and z2 points to his head.

 

"You were shot in the head X9. Fathers father." He tells him looking sadly at what must have to be an injury from the gunshot in question.

 

"When?" X9 asks.

 

"It's been about a week, I got you to wake up with some help in diamond city."

 

"Where?"

 

"Diamond city." He repeats and X9 still doesn't know what to make of what he's saying. It shows very clearly on his face.

 

"Why the hell were we there?" He asks looking around the house. "And why are we here?"

 

He hears z2 speak but nothing he says sticks, he's too focused on where the toys used to be to hear him.

 

"X9." Z2 calls but x9 is not listening.

 

He wakes up again from his dream within a dream. He gasps, falling out of his bed much to z2s chagrin.

 

"What are you doing?" He asks sitting up to look over the edge of the bed.

 

"Where are we and why?" X9 asks in a panic and z2 tilts his head.

 

"Were in Megaton hiding from the director."

 

X9 nods. "We left because he tried to kill me, we are currently in the capital wasteland, we came to this place...Megaton... to be sure I was not murdered, correct?" He looks around the room trying to be sure he remembered everything.

 

"X9… yes. Are you alright?" Z2 had found himself slightly annoyed at first but now he was more worried to see the other so frazzled. "Did something happen?" He crawls out of bed to sit on the floor at his side.

 

"I had a dream, you and I were younger. Remember the mission where you…"He was going to say it but suddenly everything came rushing back to him. Z2 had killed the family, he had looked at himself in horror and disgust and X9 realized that day that he felt something stronger than mere platonic concern for the unit before him.

 

"Which one?" Z2 inquires curiously.

 

X9 is quiet for a minute. "Z2… the mission where I knew I was…” The words in mind were _I knew I was in love with you_ , but he saves it. That was not to most pressing matter here. “The day you had killed that family, a mother, a father, two sons…" He thinks about the words z2 had said to him but can't recall them perfectly. "You said something to me like _'did I hollow you out or did you do it for me?'_ I think."

 

Z2 listens to him regardless of how tired he might have been, nodding groggily along. "I remember, 13 years ago."

 

"12 years." X9 corrects him.

 

"No. It's 2288 now. Its December 23rd though. It won't be 2288 much longer."

 

X9 looks around again, this time for a calendar. He can't find one but he's glad he can remember he was looking for it in the first place. In his dream, he could remember nothing.

 

"So what else happened? In your dream?" Z2 asks while yawning. He was waking up now. His hair was down and he had fallen asleep in his clothes again. Moira had him up in her shop helping her with her books, and was interrogating him hard about all he knew of this lone wanderer who had given them their house key, it was by no means dangerous work, he could wear anything he wanted, but he preferred the courser uniform over anything else he could have worn for the job. Never knowing when danger might come he slept in it to be ready if the director ever showed his face.

 

"Well. I woke up in the dream after you said that. I was at that house again, years later and you were there telling me I had been shot in the head. I couldn't remember anything."

 

Z2 nods. "He did try to shoot you in the head, do you remember that?"

 

X9 wishes he didn't. "Unfortunately." He groans and climbs back up into the bed. "I am sorry I woke you up. I could not live with myself if I forgot you." He tries to get comfortable and z2 crawls over him to get back in his place.

 

"Nightmares happen." Z2 kisses the back of his neck and wraps his arms around him. “I feel the same.” He yawns again. "I'm right here if you need me. Get some rest, please."

 

* * *

 

 

His sleep after his conversation with z2 was not as horrible as it was before. This did not mean he had not got enough sleep to be as well rested as he wished. Z2 was gone already, probably at Moira's.

 

 _"What was it like to be alive then? Did you hollow yourself out to fit me in? Or was it I that made the hole I left empty."_ He remembered his words clearly now.

 

He rests a hand on his chests and thinks back 13 years. “I made the hole, I wanted you in it.” He muses aloud to himself. The question made no sense then but now he was understanding what he was saying. “I think I broke myself,” He climbs out of bed, remembering how empty he felt when z2 was not at his side. Of course, he wouldn’t always be, their work would not allow it. “...Chasing after you.” He finishes. "Not that it is a bad thing," He was talking to himself, and as strange as it felt, it made him feel far less anxious about the dream. "Do people not make room in their hearts for the people they love?" He considers writing all this down, it sounded very good to him. "Hollowing oneself out for the person they love to fit in their heart, ha." It's not funny really, what is funny is how seriously he finds himself trying to rationalize something as absurd as a dream.

* * *

 

“So he's ok? Right?” Moira asks again and z2 rolls his eyes without concern for her response.

 

“Moira, why would I lie?” He says and she laughs a bit at herself.

 

“You are absolutely correct, I just worry about him you know? So you say he had lost a finger right?” She was typing away on her new book, hanging from Z2s every word, or as she knew him, Just Z.

 

“He did, it was the middleish one.” He holds up his ring finger. “He seemed fine, he was still able to use his hammer pretty well, still cried a lot though. I have never met a man so emotional.” Z2 leans against her counter messing with the bell she kept atop it for customers to get attention.

 

“Of course, some things never change it seems.” She remembers him fondly, his face was always either wet with tears, or on the verge of being so. Even with that in mind, he was a brave man. “Anselm I think his name was. What a helpful boy he was. He told me all about his tears. He had said something like _‘well there's nothing wrong with crying if you're sad’_ and I told him, he was going to be incredibly dehydrated.”

Z2 nods. “Pretty sure he was when we were with him.” The door to the shop opens and X9 walks in and takes a seat.

 

“Are we talking more about Anselm?” He asks and both nod.

 

“We're talking about his idiotic life choices, like the state he left his home in for one,” Z2 complains. “It's ugly as hell.”

 

Moira looks back at him with a smile, she had grown used to his attitude. He could never be satisfied as far as she was concerned. “He built it on up in the 70s Z, from the boring little home it was to something quite cute and fashionable if i should say so myself.” She looked quite proud and X9 can't help but laugh a bit at her.

 

“Are you saying that because the place's decor was your doing?” X9 Inquires and she smiles even harder.

 

“Well of course, we can't all have good taste! I do though.”

 

“Really, I guess I must be the _we all_ you're referring to.” Z2 stands upright and saunters over to Moira at the terminal resting his hands on her shoulders and giving her a shake. X9 can't help but watch happily at how much happier he was now that they were away from the new director. He and Moira had become quick friends in the same way he himself and Z2 had. He would spit his venom, his horrible sarcastic quips and comments and she would take them like light punches and throw some right back to him. It was nice to watch.

 

“Well, I don't see him calling my good taste bad.” She gestures to X9. “Actually, you still have not told me your name. Shame on me! How long have we been in the same city and I have neglected to find this out? Too long it seems.” Moira says spinning her chair all the way around and letting it come to a halt facing x9.

 

“Oh, my name?” X9 asks suddenly feeling put on the spot. “Uh, it's Adam.” He had decided that perhaps he would be safer with a humans name, harder to track.

 

“Well Adam, unlike Z here, I’m willing to wager you actually do have good taste.” She cast a mischievous look over to z2 who rolls his eyes again.

 

“You keep saying good like it’s going to change what I think Moira, if he agrees with you it only means his taste is shit too.”

  


She squints at him, barely able to contain her smile as she pretends to scrutinize him. “Oh really? Then how would you change it?” She stands up from her spot at the terminal and leans over the counter where he had once been.

“If I had a week I could not be halfway finished explaining.” All of them laugh at the idea.

 

“Well, its Sunday. Take it away Z! The spotlight is shining, the crowd is cheering!” She says and makes a silly attempt at impersonating a rowdy and excited crowd, going Woo, go Z!

 

“Very well,” He clasps his hands together and opens his mouth again when the door slams open.

 

“Z, there's someone new in town,” It was Maggie, poking her head into the door and looking around to see that Not just Z2 but this quiet man whose name she did not know him was here too.  “Oh good, you’re both here.” She lets herself all the way in.

 

“What are they wearing?” Z2 asks quickly going over to stand at X9s side. Moira looks between them and Maggie with a look of deep concern for their well being.

 

“A vault suit. It's not from 101. I came to tell you because you said the person might be wearing a vault suit when they got here.”

 

Z2 sighs. “Maggie, the number.” He reminds her.

 

“Oh,” She taps her fist to her head ass if she were knocking on the door to see if there was anything inside. “Duh, um.” She starts. “It was 111.”

 

Z2s blood runs cold, fear deep enough to cause him to tremble immediately.  “This can't be happening.” He begins looking around frantically for some sort of answer to this problem and X9 does as well.

 

“Moira,” Z2 whips around and grabs her by the arm. “Do you have anything, anywhere we could hide. He's going to turn this place upside down to get me, I need to be somewhere no one is going to look.”

 

“He brought a guy in a black coat like yours with him,” Maggie adds and Z2 looks as if he might cry, X9 rests a hand on his head trying to think of something, anything that could save them.

 

“This can't be happening. We went so far away.” X9 things out loud. “He brought a…” He doesn’t finish the sentence. He did not want to. He brought a courser to help hunt them down. They were fucked as far as he could tell, unless there was some sort of miracle to come in the next few minutes.

 

“I don't quite understand exactly what's going on Z, you didn't explain everything,” The Maggie says. “But I think maybe I could go out there and try to distract him?”

 

Z2 holds up a hand to halt her, barely able to think straight. “No, it won't be necessary.” He punches the counter and grits his teeth. “Moira,” He looks to her desperately and she quickly finds herself trying to come up with something.

 

“Well, I don't know everything either, but that guy is bad news right?” She asks walking over to a large set of boxes, the kind you normally see attached to the backs of a brahmin.

 

“Maggie, go keep an eye on the visitors and if you can keep em away from my shop as best you can.” She says herding Z2 and x9 to the boxes. You two, start pulling everything out, now! Fast!” She says running off to find some spare wood walls.

 

The coursers do as they're told, emptying out Moira's supply boxes as fast as possible, confused but trusting that their new friend had their best interest in mind.

 

When she comes back she's got two long boards long enough to fit snugly into the boxes bottoms. “Ok guys, this might be a bit weird but I need you to get inside!” She says urging them to do so by waving her boards at them. “If he goes through my stuff, that's grounds for the whole city to attack, robbery is serious stuff you know?” She tells them while they crawl inside the boxes.

 

“No!” She sees them ready to separate and gestures with her head to one box. “I had you empty one so it looks like I'm packing. Get in one only! Together!” She says and they listen.

 

“I love you,” Z2 blurts out to X9 before getting in and lying down. He was pale, fear written all over him.

 

“And I, you,” X9 says crawling in with him.

 

“Ok boys, I'm gonna put this board over you just need you to deal with the weight of everything, try not to get too crushed!” She says resting the board over them and piling her items over top of them.

 

Time ticks by as she buries them in everything she might sell, from guns and ammo to water and food. Lucky for them Maggie must have done well in stalling this man from vault 111 because when he finally enters the store with the tall black-clad man its been enough time for her to have halfway packed up the second box, making it look more like she was unpacking with everything scattered about.

 

“Hey, new in town?” She asks standing up from her work and the man nods, a smile on his face. He looked friendly enough, but if Z was afraid of him she could only imagine what he must have been hiding behind that smile.

 

“Good to meet you! I'm Moira Brown. I take care of supplies and repairs here, but what I really do is mostly tinkering and research.” She says cheerfully offering a hand to the man. She couldn't let it slip she was scared or worried, and if she did somehow she already had a nice excuse planned. The lone wanderer Anselm, she was just worried sick about him after a few guys passing through town mentioned him.

 

“Angel Baudin,” The man introduces himself and shakes her hand. “This a nice shop you got here. Need any help with pulling all that out?” He asks looking over her shoulder.

 

“Oh no, it's all ok! I was actually packing it up anyways!” She says with a big goofy grin. “ But if you wanna buy something I got plenty of stuff that isn't being sent off. Wanna take a look at the store menu?”

 

The man shakes his head. “Nah, just lookin for info.” He reaches into his pocket and reveals a rather detailed sketch of Z with his full designation scrawled across the top. “This man is pretty dangerous. Z2-47, a runaway mechanical man. A synth. They leave the commonwealth sometimes and go out on very murderous rampages if you say the wrong thing to them.” He looks around the shop. “Quite frankly, he alone could turn this whole city to a blood bath if you are not careful. Have you seen him, doll?” Angel asks and Moira frowns, feigning sorrow and fear.

 

“Oh, geez, that sounds really bad. Would it be bad if I said I saw him though?” She asks and inside the box Z2 panics a bit but trusts she was not going to sell him out like this. Everything the man said was clearly lies. He hopes she thought that too.

 

“Oh, you have?” Angel looks excited, a wild expression tries to cross his face but he tones it down. “Where?”

 

Moira collapses into her chair, pretending to be devastated. “He came through here and bout so much ammo all my other customers were gonna hang me out to dry for screwing them over so badly. It was awful! He was gone as fast as he came though.” She turns off her terminal that was still on. “If you had been here only a day earlier,” She muses aloud and angel nods.

 

“But that aside!” Moira cuts in before Angel can speak. “Are you done? I got a lot of work to do you know! A genius can't waste her time talking about every murder bot that comes her way when there are more pressing matters!” She could play rude for now, as much as it pained her.

 

“So as a wise woman once said! If you’re not buying, bye then!” She says with a wave.

 

Angel nods. “Yeah...Well, see ya Moira.” He looks to his courser companion who nods. The two of them leave and Moira holds her cheerful expression for a few minutes more, working on a few weapon upgrades before deciding that they were absolutely not turning around and coming back in.

“...Z, you ok?” She asks the box quietly.

 

“I'm fine.” He answers but is muffled by the layers of items between him and her.

 

“How long do you think you can stay in there?” She asks quietly.

 

“As long as I need to.” He clings tight to X9s hand, his own still shaking, not just with fear but fury now too.

 

“Kay, well, you're at the bottom with some food, so hang tight.” She says getting back to her work as normal, hoping that this angel would leave town soon.

 

* * *

 

 

Christmas, holiday decorations had been hung up for the day and X9, Moira, and Z2 all sat in the craterside supply talking about the events of December 23rd.

 

“So you guys really are all mechanical?”

 

Z2 shakes his head. “Mostly flesh, a few metal bits to keep us under control. Like an internal leash for a dog.” He had taken up cooking in his time since leaving the commonwealth, he stands over a mixing bowl stirring together batter for a Christmas meal that Moira insisted he make. “If he saw me, he could have wiped my entire memory in one sentence.”

 

She nods, taking notes. X9 can't help but feel a bit tense having so narrowly avoided death again but Moira was trustworthy enough.

 

“Everything he told you was a lie, by the way. Were not violent unless given reason to be so, not some sort of secret code. He just wants me back.” Z2 pours meat into the batter to get it all covered to be fried.

 

“I sorta guessed that, you're both such sweethearts I can’t imagine either of you being the killer robots he was trying to paint you as.” She thinks about her words. “Boy, if it wasn’t so dangerous I think I’d love to try my hand at painting you guys.”

 

“Perhaps it is for the best you don't,” X9 says taking a slow sip of water. “I hardly think It would make for a good-”

 

“Shut it, handsome,” Z2 calls out from the kitchen. “It would be a good picture, you're just mean to yourself.”

 

“What he said, Adam! You're a real handsome fella!” She starts to doodle him. “You’ve got that wild wasteland survivor look. It's nice!” She says giving him a thumbs up it seems, but really shes measuring him with her hand and eye.

 

“You two are too much,” X9 says covering his red face.

 

“Were just enough,” Z2 calls from the kitchen frying up the first few slabs of brahmin meat.

 

“Indeed!”Moira agrees. “But that aside, what's that guys deal anyways Z? Not to ruin the mood but I've never seen you look so out of your element.”

 

Z2 shrugs. "It's fine." He wipes his hands clean on the apron he wore over his clothes, just his long sleeve shirt he wore under his courser jacket and a pair of grey jeans that ripped at the knees. "He was...for a lack of better terms, completely infatuated with me." the fire was on low, the food wouldn't be burning anytime soon so he made his way over to join X9 and moria.

 

"He and I met when I was chosen to accompany him on his movement throughout the commonwealth," He sits down on X9s lap casually. "As a courser I am built and ready for every combat situation. This was good for Angel as he needed help surviving in the wasteland and finishing tasks given to him by the director at the time, father."

 

Moira scribbles down more notes. "You have a father?" Moira perks up at the info.

 

"Ha," Z2 leans on X9. "No. He was simply called father for his DNA contribution to the synth technology. We have no parents.” He tells her and she writes that down as well.

 

“Go on,”

 

Z2 nods. “Angel and I became friends after he confided in me after he was told he would be elected future director. At that time he had told me he intended to change the way synths were treated with the institute. We would be people in his eyes. Given the same rights to pursue jobs outside of labor and courser work.” He  leans forward on the table, still sitting in X9s lap, leaving the courser below him a bit flustered. “He wanted us to be free to love, to live. Thinking back I should have noticed he was in love with me. He always said things like that to me, said I was free to love and he would not hold it against me.” He sighs.

 

“Man, he's in love with you? Was he coming to try-”

 

“To try and drag me back? Yes. Let me explain.” He says sitting upright again. He scoots back so he has a more stable seat on X9s legs, using his chest as a place to rest his back. He crosses his arms across his chest and continues talking. “Angel had me convinced I could trust him, so I told him I was in a relationship with X9. I admired him, cared for him even. I thought it would be alright. Hell, really if I had gotten to know him a bit better I could have given him a chance if X9 had been ok with it.”

 

“I suppose I might have been,” X9 says wrapping his arms around Z2s waist. If he kept moving around like this he felt he might die.

 

“Exactly. I thought it would be ok. It was not.” He shakes his head. “Angel seemed fine at first, he said he was happy for me. He was so happy that he insisted we bring X9 along on our future missions. I thought things were going well until…” He looks down sadly, reluctant to say it.

 

“Z, you have me on the edge of my seat,” Moira says bouncing in place. “What happened?”

 

Z2 sighs and Looks back at her. “He took us back to his old home in sanctuary hills, some pre-war neighborhood and tried to kill X9 in front of me, he said I didn't need him, that he loved me more than X9 could, that he would kill anyone who got in the way of him being with me…” X9 squeezes him a little tighter.

 

“He's crazy. I don't know what he expected to accomplish. Did he think Killing X9 would leave me with no option but him?” He shrugs. “Regardless, we ran away together. He was the new director, X9 would be reset, or killed at some later time if we stayed.” He goes to stand up and X9 lets him go. He heads back into the kitchen. “We ran far, but it's like he's obsessed with me or something. He followed us for days before we finally lost him.”

 

He gets back to cooking and X9 watches him. He loved to see him work, his chopping was so fast and efficient, very satisfying to see.

 

“Wow, he sounds like a villain out of a comic book or something,” Moira observes and all of them nod in agreement.

 

“He was, pretty much.”

 

* * *

 

 

Moira had sent them on their way after dinner and festivities, she needed sleep and insisted that they did too.

 

With the part over X9 and Z2 walk hand in hand down the streets of megaton, looking at all the lights in a comfortable silence that X9 finally decides to break after a moment or two.

 

“Do you think we should stay here?” He liked Moira, she was a sweet girl. Z2 clearly did too.

 

Z2 is quiet for a bit longer though. “Well…” He starts. “I...I don't know.” He did not like the call days ago, but he had found a place he felt right.

“I never want to see Angel again, and I fear if we leave he may still be out there looking for us.” He says as they approach their home. “New years is coming up soon. It's going to be 89.” He says and X9 cannot discern any relevance in this fact.

 

“Yes? And?” X9 inquires.

 

“If we do leave, let's leave after new years. Maybe a month or two, just not too far.”

 

X9 nods. “Of course.” He puts the key in the door and lets Z2 inside.

 


End file.
